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John Farrell said he approached Blue Jays last year about Boston Red Sox manager job

Possibility came about a year ago after Terry Francona left the Bosox but &lsquo;that request was denied&rsquo; by the Jays.

New Red Sox manager John Farrell (right) is given his Red Sox jersey as he is introduced by Boston Red Sox Executive Vice-President/General Manager Ben Cherington as manager of the club at Fenway Park in Boston, on Oct. 23, 2012. (JESSICA RINALDI / Reuters)

By Joseph Hall and Daniel GirardSports Reporters

Tues., Oct. 23, 2012

Thanks for the training.

Former Blue Jays manager John Farrell expressed gratitude to the Toronto club Tuesday for giving him the experience to lead the Boston Red Sox.

Farrell, who is returning to Beantown after two years at the Blue Jay’s helm, said his Toronto experience will make him a better manager for the rival Red Sox.

“It’s . . . with a lot of thanks and great gratitude to the Toronto Blue Jays,” Farrell told a news conference in Boston where he donned a Red Sox cap.

“The opportunity that they provided in the two years that were spent there was invaluable experience.

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“Things might not have always worked out the way we intended, but there were a lot of firsts that I was able to experience there. It’s allowed me to be that much more prepared here today standing here than maybe would be the case two years ago.”

Farrell said the possibility of his coming to Boston — the “epicentre” of baseball — came about a year ago after Terry Francona left the Red Sox but “that request was denied” by the Jays.

Farrell said that at that time he told Jays’ president Paul Beeston and general manager Alex Anthopoulos “this is a place that I cut my teeth as a major league coach, experienced a lot of success, had a lot strong relationships that still exist . . . and I was very candid and honest with them.

“And, when it came up again this year on the heels of two very extensive days of conversations in a year in review I expressed the same interest again,” he said. “And, fortunately, all parties were able to work out this trade.”

Anthopoulos said Sunday that Farrell approached him over the Thanksgiving weekend about the latest opportunity to leave.

Farrell’s was 154-170 with the Jays over two seasons and that record appeared to have dampened some of the ardor of the New England press corps, which had once clamored for his return.

In response to anger from Blue Jays fans over his departure and a feeling that he had one eye on the Boston job the entire time he was in Toronto, Farrell said while he can “appreciate” that sentiment, it’s just not true.

“That means there’s passion and there’s caring from the fan base,” Farrell said of the criticism. “But I would take exception that there was no intent to fulfill a contract.”

Farrell said the year-long and open courting by the Sox did not dilute his sense of duty in Toronto last season.

“From my standpoint, I don’t think it affected how we did business one bit this year,” Farrell said.

He said he asked Beeston on several occasions if the club’s relationship with him was okay, and that the president said that it was.

“I walked into Paul’s office and I said ‘hey, are we good?’ I honestly asked him that straightforward,” Farrell said. “And he looked at me and he said ‘what are you talking about?’ ”

Farrell said he never had any goal in Toronto but to take the team to a World Series.

“I came there to win the World Series, to contribute to an organization and we went about our business as we would have if the (Boston) opportunity didn’t present itself or the request didn’t come about.”

He would not comment on whether the Jays had offered him a contract extension.

Farrell said Anthopoulos was “very candid” in their conversation and compared his (Farrell’s) desire to move to Boston as similar to what would face Anthopoulos, a Montreal native, if the Expos still existed and a job opportunity arose.

“So, he understood it and I thank him for that,” Farrell said. “But at the same time when you experience something and have been in a place that you’ve had success, won a World Series, you’ve developed strong relationships and trust a lot of people, those are natural drawing cards.

“And, to do it in a setting such as this in Boston with the Red Sox, this is a very rare opportunity and one that I am extremely grateful to be sitting here.”

Farrell, who becomes the 46th manager in Red Sox history, takes over a team that won just 69 games last since, their lowest total since 1965. Their combined team ERA of 4.70 was the third worst in the American League.

“I truly believe in an up-tempo, aggressive style of play,” he told reporters.

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